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Forum: Welfare on the farm – Public support for farm animals

By ANGELA TURNER

THE BRITISH, supposedly a nation of animal lovers, seem to care little
about the welfare of animals on farms. Recent problems associated with modern
farming practices, such as the so-called mad cow disease, salmonella in
eggs and the use of growth hormones, have hit the headlines and created
considerable concern among the public and action by politicians. But other
aspects of modern farming, such as keeping chickens in battery cages (with
only 450 square centimetres of space per bird), raise neither passions nor
calls for action.

Earlier this year, I attended a meeting in Guildford on animal welfare
organised by the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. One topic
much discussed, both during sessions and over drinks in the bar, was how
to raise public awareness of the welfare of farm animals. The consensus
was that people will press for action on a problem only when they feel personally
threatened. BSE and salmonella poisoning, the threat of cancer from nuclear
power stations or from the ozone hole cause concern, whereas the welfare
of battery hens, tethered pigs or crated veal calves do not.

It is not that the public lacks sympathy. If asked whether, for example,
chickens should spend all their lives confined in a battery cage, most people
will answer no. But that apparently caring attitude is not translated into
action. One reason may be that people are not sufficiently aware of how
much suffering modern farming inflicts on animals. The public has a rose-tinted
view of the countryside, with animals grazing freely in the fields and hens
clucking in the farmyard. People may have heard about battery systems, for
example, but not understood the implications.

The public may also perceive it to be in the natural order of things
for humans to exploit animals as food, just as they once accepted that ‘superior’
white people should use ‘inferior’ black people as slaves. For a long time,
slavery was not a problem because people did not want to see it as such.
Farm animals seem to have a similar status.

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Another factor is that there seems to be no simple solution as to how
to improve the welfare of farm animals, nor any urgency to find one. In
contrast, when incidents such as BSE and salmonella came to the public’s
attention, the threat was clear. There was extensive coverage in the media,
and the public put pressure on the farmers and government to find a solution
quickly.

There are several hurdles to overcome before the problems of animal
welfare can be solved. Inevitably, producers and politicians will be involved.
But producers will change their product only if it is economic for them
to do so. And governments do not always bow to public pressure. Even when
the producers do make a change in their product the impetus may be lost
because the public cannot, or is not prepared to, pay the costs involved.
For example, half-a-dozen free-range eggs can cost 30 to 40 pence more than
battery eggs, which is prohibitive for many people.

Perhaps a more revolutionary approach is needed to elicit public support.
More appropriate marketing might help. For example, battery eggs do not
have to be labelled as such; some are described, misleadingly, as ‘farm
eggs’. One idea put forward at the Guildford meeting was that battery eggs
should be sold in boxes on which was printed a warning: ‘Producing these
eggs has damaged the health of the hens.’

Another idea that surfaced well into the evening at one of the bar discussions
was that what hens really need to get the public on their side is a disease
which is caused by battery systems and which is harmful to humans. We heard
at the conference from Toby Knowles at Cambridge how chickens in battery
cages have much weaker bones than normal. Their bones break more easily
than those of chickens in terrace and perchery systems where there is more
opportunity for exercise. Weak Chicken Disease, which is caught from eating
battery eggs and hens and is a clear threat to human health, might just
stir up a bit of public concern.